"Within the next 10 years, social networking will be primarily driven by wireless devices that will soon become "must-have" applications for multiple generations of consumers." Derek Lido, President and CEO, iSupply Corporation
Nokia Corp. (NOK), the world's largest maker of mobile phones, said it's acquiring privately held German location-based social-networking site Plazes. The acquisition of the 13-people company based in Berlin will help Nokia accelerate its vision of bringing people and places closer together, the Finnish company said in a statement.
LinkedIn, the online resource for professionals, with 23 million members worldwide, recently announced a $53 million fourth round of funding led by
Bain Capital. The latest round takes the total investment in the company to $80 million and gives LinkedIn a valuation of just over $1 billion. Existing company investors include
Sequoia Capital,
Bessemer Venture Partners and
Greylock Partners.
The company has been profitable for 18 months, unlike many horizontal
social networks that are still not profitable, and is projecting revenues this year of $75–100 million, double that of last year. Its user base of 23 million is small compared to Facebook at 70 million, but it is growing very fast. The number is expected to exceed 30 million by the end of 2008 and year-on-year growth is around 108%. Data from Nielsen shows LinkedIn to be the fastest-growing social network in the US, with year-on-year growth of 146% (to May 2008).
Social networking is no longer just a numbers game. It is the nature and focus of the audience that makes it attractive to advertisers and this is where Linkedin is very strong. Members are professional people that use the site for work-related activity. According to the company there is strong representation from Fortune 500 companies, while 46% of members are decision-makers. The average age is around 41 years and household income around $109,000.
This is a quality, targeted demographic sought by major brands shifting from basic SMS marketing to more sophisticated multimedia advertising.
RBC Capital Markets expects mobile marketing revenues to balloon from $45 million in 2005 to $1.5 billion by 2010. There are 10 to 20 times more mobile phones sold than any other consumer electronics device, wireless is a huge driver for GPSPLS adoption.
IDC White Paper:
GTX Corp’s GPS technology platform commercialized by Gforce Systems & Technologies (formerly Kalika Info Tech) in Nepal and surrounding territories generating new revenues for both companies.
Los Angeles, Calif. – April 14, 2010 – GTX Corp (OTCBB:
GTXO), a leader in customizable, patented 2-way GPS Personal Location Services (PLS) solutions, received its first material order from
Gforce Systems & Technologies (P) Ltd. Gforce will be marketing the GTX Corp miniaturized GPS personal locators which will be deployed for use by Government Agencies, Private Companies, Banks, International Organization as well as Embassies and Diplomatic Missions. The
AVL devices will be used to monitor vehicles in related industries and vertical markets.
The purchases chosen from the expanded
line of GTX Corp products include; the Micro Loci, Mini MT and The GTX AVL devices in addition to the GTX SMS gateway and web portal. GTX Corp will initially host the middleware and viewing portal in the US and then transfer the “use license” to Gforce in Nepal.
Since the signing of the platform test agreement,
Kalika Info Tech has invested significantly in its call center infrastructure customizing and integrating the GTX Corp proprietary platform to support the 2-way GPS products and solutions. This marks the transition of the Kalika Info Tech
test-phase agreement, to a full commercial phase.
Carlos Briceno, VP of Business Development, for GTX Corp, states; “We are pleased to see the results from the integration of our backend with their customer support help desk and that they are kicking off their launch with a nice mix of our GPS devices. We are committed to our international business roadmap and partners and this marks another successful milestone in our ability to deploy our PLS solutions abroad.”
Shree Bista managing director of Gforce, states; “Our companies have been working for the past seven months to launch GPS tracking solutions in Nepal and finally we are live in South East Asia. Gforce has developed an integrated Central Monitoring Station (CMS) that is comprised of GPS Satellite tracking technology and other hi-tech surveillance technologies to alert various security needs as well as search & rescue missions where we can best offer our clients world class solutions and peace of mind.”
About Gforce Systems & Technologies:Gforce (formerly, Kalika Info Tech) is based in Kathmandu and committed to delivering integrated Security Systems/Services throughout Nepal. Gforce currently has over 1000 security guards and has gained a reputation for its Quick Response Time. It is a rapidly expanding company that aims to maintain its reputation in providing custom tailored security services and security equipment to the Trekkers/Hikers, Industries, Government Agencies, Private Companies, Banks, Non Governmental Agencies, International Organization as well as Embassies and Diplomatic Missions.
About GTX Corp with you ®
GTX Corp (GTXO.OB) a leader in embedded 2 way GPS real-time personal location services (PLS) was founded in 2002 and is based in Los Angeles, California. Known for its game changing patented micro GPS device in a shoe – the
patented smart shoe the Company continues to pave the way with innovative geo specific and proximity alerting applications that help you know where someone or something is at the touch of a button. Committed to being the
"better people finder,
" GTX Corp owns and operates
LOCiMOBILE, Inc. which develops LBSN applications for smart phones,
Code Amber News Service, and
Code Amber Alertag. The Company has an aggressive intellectual property strategy and owns an extensive portfolio of patents, patents pending, registered trade marks, copy rights and website properties. GTX Corp is well positioned to capture the PLS Market through its
diverse product platform, licensing model, brand recognition, traction in the market and strategic partners.
Joel Margulies
Public Relations
GTX Corp does not warrant or represent that the unauthorized use of materials drawn from the content of this document will not infringe rights of third parties who are not owned or affiliated by GTX Corp. Further GTX Corp cannot be held responsible or liable for the unauthorized use of this document’s content by third parties.
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